For aging religious leaders, is it still ’till death us do partâ?

(RNS) When aging religious leaders reach the top echelons of temporal and spiritual power, their followers have a certain expectation: Till death us do part.

But Pope Benedict XVIâs surprise resignation has shifted that calculus, prompting introspection about traditional understandings of religionsâ senior management and when, if and how to let them go.

Evangelist Billy Graham, now 94, turned the reins of his evangelistic association over to his son Franklin in 2000 but continues to comment on the political scene.

Some religious leaders prefer to step aside before they die in the job. Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams retired last year at the relatively young age of 62. Others are term-limited and ease themselves into retirement and fade from the public scene.

Evangelist Billy Graham, now 94, turned the reins of his evangelistic association over to his son Franklin in 2000 but continues to comment on the political scene.

The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, 86, resigned as the Crystal Cathedral empire he built crumbled and declared bankruptcy amid a nasty family battle. He resurfaced in January at his daughterâs Hope Center of Christ congregation in Orange County, Calif., and âis looking forward to joining us once a month,â Pastor Sheila Schuller Coleman said.

Members of Monsonâs Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints consider him a divinely chosen âprophet, seer and revelatorâ who is part of the churchâs First Presidency that includes two top counselors that can assist when he is healthy or ill.

âThey function as a presidency, unlike the pope, who I think pretty much functions and exists in a kind of singularity,â said Terryl L. Givens, author of âThe Book of Mormon: A Very Short Introduction.â

âItâs kind of a fail-safe: It ensures that the business can continue to be conducted in an effective manner even if one of the three, including the president, suffers growing incapacity.â

The Rev. Robert Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif., wears his preaching robes and a hard hat for the groundbreaking ceremony Sunday (March 11) for the $20 million International Center for Possibility Thinking on the Crystal Cathedral campus.

Benedictâs pending retirement has drawn admiration from some religious leaders who hope non-Catholic officials may follow his lead.

âThis is an historic moment that alters expectations for sacrificial leadership in all communions,â said National Council of Churches President Kathryn Lohre, in a statement after the popeâs announcement. âHe is bravely facing up to the realities we all confront: the fragility of the human body and the inevitability of the time when we can no longer shoulder the burdens placed upon us.â

The pontiff said he was resigning âfor the good of the churchââ â and some large church pastors are taking comparable steps, said megachurch expert Scott Thumma.

âI think thatâs what megachurch pastors have come to say, too: âThis is bigger than me and if I donât have a responsible plan to move the congregation beyond me, then Iâm not doing my task of ministering to this community,ââ said Thumma, a sociologist at the Hartford Institute for Religion Research.

Age and health have long determined when religious leaders hang up their zuchettos, yarmulkes and kufis, but thereâs another looming factor.

âMinisters have big egos, so they donât like to be as candid as the pope has in assessing his weaknesses,â said E. Glenn Hinson, professor emeritus of spirituality and church history at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. âNow, though, he has set a persuasive example in putting the concerns of the church above the traditional way of holding office until death.â

While average Americans are intrigued by discussions of white smoke and possible popes, in places like Bartholomewâs home base of Turkey or the Dalai Lamaâs Tibet, successions are shaped by âa very, very different kind of situation,â notes Harvard University scholar Elizabeth Prodromou.

âThe kinds of decisions that get made for the good of the church and thinking about succession in the church have to take into account the fact that those churches exist under siege and at risk,â said Prodromou, a Greek Orthodox Christian and former vice chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

The Dalai Lama, long in conflict with China and leading from exile in India, has sought to address the tangled web of succession and religious oppression in recent years. In a âunique historical momentâ in 2011, the Buddhist leader handed over his political leadership to a secular prime minister, said Robert Barnett, director of the Modern Tibet Studies Program at Columbia University.

âHe doesnât want the dispute over succession of the Dalai Lama, which is still to be worked out, to damage the survival capacity of his government,â said Barnett. âHe instructed the government to set itself up as a secular body.â

The Dalai Lama also issued a statement in 2011 about his eventual reincarnation, suggesting a possible change from tradition. Usually other lamas identify a new leader after the Dalai Lamaâs death through factors such as signs, dreams and visions. But the Dalai Lama mentioned the possible appointment of a successor before he dies.

He plans, when he is âabout 90,â to consult with top lamas to determine a successor or a succession process.

Barnett wonders if the Dalai Lamaâs considerations might be a teachable moment for the Catholic Church â where, like the Dalai Lama, the pope is both spiritual leader and political head (of the Vatican City State).

âHe still remains by far the most important person because of his charismatic role,â Barnett said. âIt would be very, very interesting if the pope would do something like that.â